Orm's dream
by SharanMcQuack
Summary: Orm, AKA Oceanmaster,Aquaman's half brother, has a weird dream. Sort of an epiphany.


Orm's dream

by Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.

There was this episode of "Brave and Bold" where Bats tried to keep Orm, a.k.a. Oceanmaster from taking over Atlantis...this is my way of saying "Hey, stupid!" to Orm.

There was something about Orm's situation that reminded me of Launchpad's situation in DW...only Launchpad was supposed to WANT to be DW sidekick (WHY?)and Orms' situation was a LOT cushier.

Guess who used to read Aquaman comic books back in the day? (We're talking late 70's , early 80's here. Why'd I stop? Them offing Aquababy? Them offing his marriage?)

By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.

One night, Orm, Aquaman's half-brother, had a dream. At first, he did not realize he was dreaming. Orm dreamt he had been kidnaped and was being held captive by...himself.

"You look just like me." He told his kidnapper, confused.

"That's because I'm your subconscious. You're dreaming. I got sick and tired of watching you being so jealous of your half brother Arthur- better known as Aquaman- that you don't see how good you could be having things." his subconscious told him.

So in his dream, Orm's subconscious left Orm in prison. Yet, since is a dream, Orm could see "himself" go back to Atlantis. He watched his subconscious chase mermaid tail to his heart's content. And enjoy the opulence he lived in, enjoy fine food and drink, wear fine clothes, and otherwise spoil himself rotten.

Orm saw, in his dream, "himself" party on all night long and sleep half the day away. And he saw the people of Atlantis rejoying to see Orm FINALLY acting like a NORMAL perpetual prince.

Orm saw "himself" put himself in charge of who got to talk to Aquaman and who didn't. Which quickly translated in enough power for just about anybody. And make himself unofficially in charge of speaking for the king, which was more fun than having Aquaman's permission. He could say things that Aquaman would never THINK, let alone say, as long as "Orm" could argue that maybe SOMEBODY should say them.

The dream went on in this vein for seemingly forever, until finally...Orm woke up. To find himself in his own royal prince bedchambers, with his bed linens tangled all about himself. Which may of led to the dream of being tied up.

Confused and disoriented by the dream, (which he could not only remember, he had expected to still be a prisoner of himself) he looked around his bedroom as if he had never seen it before. As if for the first time, he saw all the luxuriies and pleasures that were his. All the jewels, gold, fine clothes...I somehow doubt they have anything electronic down there (1) but just about anything a villain could steal was already his.

Still subwhat discombobulated by the dream, Orm swam around Atlantis to regain his composure. And Orm noticed, for the first time, what a POPULAR king his brother was. Practically everybody liked and admired the guy. The worse Orm heard about Aquaman was the occasional joke about Arthur's ego. About Aquaman's bragging and boasting. And even THEN, somebody else would say:"Well, nobody's PERFECT." Or more often: "He's DONE the things he says he has. It ain't bragging if you've DONE it."

Realizing that Aquaman was a better - or at least, a more popular king than he could be was a bitter pill to swallow. But there were no two ways around it. Aquaman was a LOT more willing to risk his own fins to protect Atlantis or the Ocean in general than he was. A lot stronger, braver... Even if he were smarter, as he thought, just how important was that if the people didn't like him?

There were hundreds of thousands of merpeople in Atlantis, if he didn't please them, how long could he rule? How long before somebody deposed HIM? Even discounting Black Manta, an ordinary merman might dispose him if he displeased the people too much. It happened to other kings, even down there. (2) He had all the pleasures of being king and none of the respondsiblities, none of the pressure and decisons...maybe he should just relax and enjoy himself?

Shortly thereafter, he published two books he wrote. (3) One was predictable, a nasty tell-all book about Aquaman in which Orm vented his spleen and dished the dirt. The second threw merpeople for a loop: it was Aquaman's adventures, as told by Aquaman.

"Hey I had to LISTEN to those stories again and again until I knew them by heart...I might as well make some shells out of it!" Orm explained.

And he made an awful lot of shells from the sales of both books.

The End.

(1)Under water? Neat trick.

(2) No, I don't know that for a fact. I bet it did, though.

(3) Please don't ask how they can have books underwater where paper can't exist or how a city can survive without books or computers.


End file.
